France boasts three extra universities in this year's prestigious Times University reputation ranking, up from just two last year. But the man behind the survey told The Local it may be problematic that all five were in the same area.
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French pupils will get longer lunch breaks and learn another language under planned reforms. Photo: AFP

Everyone's got their favourite French words, whether they're amusing, odd or just fun to pronounce. After we put the call out to readers The Local has put together a list of your suggestions. See if yours made our top 20.
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From Freshers week to dressing up, Parisian journalist Priscillia Charles, who recently spent a year studying in the North East of England, points out the main differences between student life on both sides of the Channel.
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French universities in crisis

Students and academics protest at the state of higher education in France. Photo: AFP

Hundreds of angry university lecturers, students and researchers took to the streets of Paris this week to protest over a lack of funding and job insecurity in the higher education system that has left institutions "in ruin". The Local joined them to find out how bad things really are.
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French universities are in a state of ruin and the students have photographic evidence. Photo: http://universiteenruines.tumblr.com/

Academics and students were set to take to the streets across France on Thursday to protest against a lack of funding that has left their “universities in ruin”. In recent weeks protesters have been posting photographic evidence of the crumbling institutions online.
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A mayor in France has stirred up a hornet’s nest by deciding Muslim pupils at the local school will not be given an alternative meal to pork. The mayor has justified his stance by claiming it's in the name of secularism.
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The tens of thousands of international students who come to France each year are giving the country’s economy a healthy boost, a new study has revealed. It's partly in thanks to all the money they shell out just to be able to afford to live here.
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A high-profile journalism school in Paris has been left red-faced after its executive dean was accused of plagiarising material from other media and using it in her other job as a columnist – despite the strict anti-plagiarism guidelines the school vigorously enforces on its students.
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A new report this week concluded the French are the worst at English in all of the EU. Given that native English speakers are not really in a position to point the finger at the French, we asked the natives and a local expert to explain the poor showing.
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